A Russian man arrested trying to return to his country in possession of two drones and a slew of photos and videos has been remanded in custody in Norway, the Norwegian judiciary said on Friday, October 14.
This episode comes as Norway: new record trade surplus thanks to gas has tightened security around its oil and gas assets following mysterious drone flights near these infrastructures and the alleged sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines at sea near the Baltic Sea.
Placement in custody
Vitali Rustanov, 50, was arrested this week in the Arctic at the Storskog border crossing, the only border crossing between Norway and Russia, while trying to return to Russia with two drones and digital camp equipment, according to Norwegian police. A judge at Vadsø Court ordered a two-week pre-trial detention at the request of the police.
“There are (…) reasons to believe that if the defendant is not remanded in custody, he will try to avoid a trial,” the judge assessed, arguing that the suspect has two Russian passports and one Israeli one. The court decision seen by AFP shows that Vitali Roustanov, who has been in Norway since August, admitted to flying the drones “around the country”. He had 4 terabytes of photos and videos, some of which were encrypted. Like other Western countries, Norway, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, banned Russian individuals and entities from flying over its territory. Violation of these penalties is punishable by up to three years in prison.
dismissal of the charge
According to the police, Vitali Rustanov rejects the allegations against him and argues that he knew nothing about this overflight ban. “He explains that he was in Norway as a tourist and visited someone,” police officer Anja Indbjør told the newspaper Verdens Gang (VG). “He explains that he has photographed and flown a drone for personal use and states that he likes taking pictures and is a photographer,” she added. “Right now, what we’ve seen may support his claims that he’s a tourist.”
The episode comes as drone flights were reported in the vicinity of Norway’s power assets, including near offshore oil rigs, the Scandinavian country to strengthen vigilance and security around its power assets.
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According to Norwegian media, a new drone flight was observed near the gas processing plant in Kårstø (southwest) on Thursday evening. The police, who have not yet identified who or those responsible, have asked the population for help.
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